VATEUD C3 Rating Policy

The C3 Rating
The C3 rating is the highest permanent controller rating offered on the VATSIM network,
however it does not award any controlling privileges higher than those of the C1 rating. It is
issued to senior, dedicated and proficient controllers to recognise their longstanding and
professional service on the network, as well as the contributions they’ve made to it.

Requirements
To be considered for a C3 rating, a controller must meet the following minimum
requirements:

The candidate must…

• Have held the C1 rating for a minimum of 2 years

• Have controlled at least 300 hours with the C1 rating or higher (INS/SUP/ADM)
• Have controlled a minimum of 75 hours on any CTR position in VATEUD during the
12 months leading up to the date of the C3 request
• Have an excellent reputation in their home vACC
• Be recommended to VATEUD by the vACC Training Director or
VATEUD4/VATEUD14

Additionally, the candidate must meet at least 2 of the following additional requirements
(see FAQ below for further details!):

The candidate must...

• Have served in a Staff Position (on any level within the VATSIM structure) for no less
than 2 years
• Have been an active ATC mentor for no less than 2 years
• Have made positive contributions to their vACC and/or the network.
• Have an additional 200 controlling hours with the C1 rating or higher, for a total of 500
hours. In addition, the member must have held the C1 rating for one additional year,
for a total of 3 years.

Process
A controller interested in taking a C3 CPT shall contact their vACC ATC Training Director**.
Upon confirmation that the candidate meets the requirements above, the Training Director
shall submit the request to the VATEUD ATC Department ([email protected]).

The request must contain confirmation that the candidate meets the minimum requirements,
as well as a letter of recommendation detailing which of the additional requirements are met.
This should detail the candidate’s involvement in the vACC and examples of contributions
they have made including a summary of their mentoring engagements and any staff positions
held by the candidate (see FAQ).
Depending on the number of pending requests and examiner availability, the request may be
placed on a waiting list. CPT slots will be offered 2-4 weeks in advance of the proposed
dates, shorter time frames can be agreed upon if appropriate.

Before accepting a CPT slot, the vACC must:

• Ensure they can provide one local examiner (authorised to conduct C1

exams)
• Ensure they can provide underlying ATC. This should preferably be at the
Major Airport (where applicable). Additional staffing is welcome however the
candidate will be expected to demonstrate top-down controlling.
• Take responsibility for advertising the CPT. This must be done in the same
way as a local C1 exam, VATEUD will then promote the CPT through its
channels.

Upon accepting a slot, the vACC will receive contact details of the Divisional Examiner in
charge of the CPT. The examiner must be given access to the vACC’s Discord/Teamspeak
server as well as provided with links to Euroscope files and any relevant documents at least
3 days prior to the CPT. Please note that the Divisional Examiner will not be expected to
study any local procedures prior to the CPT.

**If an ATC Training Director wants to take a C3 CPT, they shall contact the VATEUD ATC
Department. Usually VATEUD4 or VATEUD14 will ask the vACC Director to write the
recommendation.

The CPT
As C3 candidates should already be very proficient controllers with extensive experience, the
Divisional Examiners will not be looking to evaluate the candidate’s procedural knowledge.
Should any issues arise during the CPT they will be addressed and can influence the final
result, however the CPT will primarily focus on the candidate’s:

• Ability to provide a professional and friendly service

• Attitude towards less experienced pilots
• Ability to handle complex, high workload situations whilst maintaining a high level of
service
• Situational awareness and forward planning

The CPT will be conducted on the vACC’s primary ACC position and will normally be
scheduled to take 2 hours. In vACCs that contain more than one primary ACC position, the
CPT shall take place on the position on which the candidate has the most experience.

The Divisional Examiner can request underlying positions to close should the workload be
deemed too low. On the contrary, should the workload be deemed too high, the divisional
examiner can request additional support. This can either be additional underlying ATC or a
split of the CPT sector. The local examiner will aid in selecting an appropriate split which will
still leave the candidate with a diverse traffic picture.

The Local Examiner will assist the Divisional Examiner in assessing the candidate’s handling
of the airspace. Both examiners shall try to agree on the outcome. In case of a
disagreement, the Divisional Examiner’s decision is final.

In case of a CPT resulting in a fail, there will be a 3 month cooldown from the date of the
CPT until the candidate can be considered for a further attempt. Once the 3 months have
passed, vACC staff will need to submit a new application and recommendation. Any
application after the first should - in addition to the normal recommendation - discuss the
result of the previous CPT and explain how the candidate has worked to address the issues
raised in order to improve their controlling.

FAQ
Q: What positions will I be able to control with a C3 rating?
A: The same as with your C1. As per GRP, positions cannot be restricted to higher ratings
than C1
Q: Is there an ATSimTest for the C3 rating?
A: No
Q: Why would I want to do an additional CPT when I already have my C1?
A: To prove that you are a seasoned and dedicated controller who has devoted significant
time and effort to provide quality Air Traffic Control to VATSIM pilots.
Q: What counts as a Staff Position?
A: Staff positions are positions like vACC Director, ATC Training Director, Operations
Director or similar. The exact definition of “Staff Position” is left to the vACC Director and
vACC ATC Training Director. Different staff positions having held one after another can be
combined to fulfil the 2 years requirement.
Q: Have I been an “active ATC mentor”?
A: To fulfil this requirement, you must have spent approximately 200 hours on mentoring.
This can be around 100 training sessions, but e.g. creating training documents is also
valued. The vACC ATC Training Director must confirm and justify that you meet these
criteria.
Q: What counts as “positive contributions”?
A: This can be many things and is left up to interpretation by vACC staff. Examples include
frequently investing time in helping new members, assisting with sector file and procedure
development, serving as a Network Supervisor, developing websites and IT tools etc.. These
contributions do not have to be connected to staff positions, however the overall effort must
be comparable to having held a staff position for 1 year.
If you have served in a staff position or as an ATC mentor and this position is used to fulfil
another “additional requirement” of this policy, the respective staff or mentoring position
cannot be used to fulfil the requirement of a “positive contribution”. However, if a contribution
has not been used to fulfil another “additional requirement” in this policy, it can be used as a
“positive contribution”. Examples for this would be having served in a staff position or as an
active ATC mentor for one year.
Q: I am no longer an active mentor and/or staff member, am I still eligible?
A: Yes! We honour previous contributions to the network, as long as your vACC staff can
confirm that you have experience in staff roles or as a mentor you will be considered eligible.
Q: I already have the I1/I3/SUP rating, can I still get a C3?
A: Yes! Due to CERT not distinguishing between permanent and service ratings, your CERT
rating will not be changed. Should you resign from your INS/SUP commitments you will be
downgraded to C3 as opposed to C1.
Q: I am a vACC Staff member writing a C3 application for a candidate from my vACC,
what specifically needs to be included?
A: The C3 request shall contain confirmation that the candidate meets all minimum
requirements, as well as a letter of recommendation containing confirmation on which of the
additional requirements the candidate meets. For example:

• Details on the candidate’s involvement in ATC Mentoring (how long they’ve been a
mentor, what ratings they mentor towards, how many training sessions they have
conducted).
• A summary of (past and current) staff positions held by the candidate (how long they
were in the position, any specific tasks (if not self-explanatory) etc.)
• Any other contributions (see above) made by the member to the vACC or to VATSIM as
a whole